McCain & Graham Regarding Assault on Aleppo

Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released the following statement today on the ongoing assault on Aleppo:

“As Syrian regime and Russian forces continue their brutal assault on Aleppo, killing scores of civilians and destroying the last remaining hospitals in the eastern part of the city, President Obama and his administration continue to summon only words of condemnation, but no meaningful action.

“After an exchange of pleasantries with Vladimir Putin in Peru this weekend, President Obama’s answer to the carnage unfolding in Aleppo was to note the need for Secretary of State John Kerry and the Russian foreign minister to continue pursuing initiatives ‘to diminish the violence and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.’

“The delusion captured by such a statement is nothing short of stunning. After hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed in a merciless campaign of inhuman slaughter aided and abetted by Russia, what could possibly give President Obama or any thinking person the impression that Vladimir Putin has any interest in alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people?

“Putin and Assad will not do what we ask of them out of the goodness of their hearts, or out of concern for our interests, or the suffering of others. They do not want to broker peace. They want to win a war. And American inaction is helping them to do it. Until President Obama and his administration recognize that diplomacy not backed by strength will always be ineffectual at best and dangerous at worst, the carnage in Syria will grind on.”

Map of territorial changes during the October-November 2016 rebel offensive in Aleppo, Syria.

Red: government controlled at the end of the offensive.

Green: Rebel controlled at the end of the offensive.

Yellow: Kurdish control. Green arrows: Rebel offensive.

Red arrows: Government counteroffensive.

Blue dotted ring: Held by government before offensive, then temporarily captured by rebels, but lost to government counteroffensive.

Red dotted ring: Held by rebels before offensive, captured by government forces during counteroffensive.